Facebook launches new messaging app made for kids

When kids chat with contacts that use the regular version of FacebookMessenger, like parents or relatives, their exchanges will appear as a normal message thread in the Messenger app for the recipient. It's launching Monday in the USA, initially on Apple devices. And the company won't mine data from it. Mashable's Kerry Flynn: (SOUNDBITE) KERRY FLYNN, BUSINESS REPORTER, MASHABLE (ENGLISH) SAYING: "Essentially, the idea of it is, if you get a kid who is age 11, 12, or younger, really used to using a Facebook app, then it's an easy transition for them to join Facebook in the future". More than 2 billion people use Facebook every month, not counting subsidiary apps such as Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram.

Your child will only be able to chat with friends and family members you approve of, via text or video, as well as send photos, choosing from a rich library of age-appropriate and "specially chosen GIFs, frames, stickers, masks and drawing tools" that let them "decorate content and express their personalities". The account will be in Messenger Kids app and will automatically migrate to original Messenger account when they turn 13.

No ads means that Facebook will collect "little data" since it won't be doing targeted advertising towards kids on Messenger Kids.

Messenger Kids is the product of over 12 months of development by the Messenger team, which also spoke to hundreds of parents, primarily in the USA, as well as the United Kingdom and Australia.

Messenger Kids may be completely separate from Facebook's other apps, but a lot of the parental management happens through Facebook.

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Messenger Kids is designed for kids and helps them in connecting with family and close friends. The company says the application is compatible with the Children's Online Privacy and Protection Act. The app is launching for iPhone immediately, but will eventually come to Android and Amazon Fire devices.

But most importantly, Facebook is giving parents total control over how their children use the app and with whom they can communicate. According to one USA Today report, "It's a grown-up problem for Facebook which needs young users to develop the habit of checking Facebook so it can show them ads well into adulthood".

The app is initially available only on Apple's iOS devices, and will eventually be rolled out to a wider audience. She first heard of Facebook's interest in children 5 or 6 years ago and urged it not to create a full social network for children.

"[Messenger Kids] doesn't overcome the issues of screen time and screen use and all the other issues that go with technology and kids", Stephen Balkam, CEO of the Family Online Safety Institute, told The Post.

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